“Our affairs hang on the razor’s edge, men of Ionia, either to be free or to be slaves; and slaves, too, who have shown themselves runaways. Now then you have to choose whether you will endure hardships, and so for the present lead a life of toil, but thereby gain ability to overcome your enemies and establish your own freedom”
~ ‘The History’ (Book 6) by Herodotus (George Rawlinson transl. GB6 - p. 187)
I started reading this chapter (Book 6) in December and only completed it in Jan. So many things (personal) happened in between that the chapter felt so long. If I think back on the events in the chapter, there are so many things to think about - not only about wars and their aftermath, but also about dreams (Hippias), double-crossing (Histiaeus), sharpness (Artaphernes), marathon run (Pheidippides), leadership failure (Dionysius), leadership success (Miltiades), hubris (Miltiades), losing a fortune by dancing (Hippoclides), etc.
The quote above is from Dionysius of Phocaea, who was the commander of the Greeks at Lade, an island near the famous city of Miletus. The fall of Miletus was a significant milestone and was really felt by the Greeks even later. The trauma was so deep that years later, when a poet staged a play titled The Capture of Miletus in Athens, the entire audience burst into tears. The playwright was fined 1,000 drachmas for this!